Fresh terror in Turkey

The UAE has condemned the bombings in Istanbul that left at least 27 people dead and wounded nearly 450.

The attacks on the British consulate and a London-based bank yesterday follows days after a bloody terrorist strike on Istanbul synagogues.

An official source at the the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that such attacks are against humanity, and demanded that such atrocities required a bold stand from the international community, and joint efforts to combat terrorism in whatever form and type it appears.

The UAE is firmly backing Turkey in this very critical circumstances, the official added. The worst terror bombings in Turkey's history coincided with President George W. Bush's trip to Britain and were blamed on Al Qaida.

Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed no let-up in the war on terror and denied their occupation of Iraq had sparked the devastating attacks.

Security forces were on highest alert after the blasts at the high-rise headquarters of the HSBC bank and the British consulate, which occurred five minutes apart at about 11am. Turkey said suicide bombers carried out the attacks.

British Consul-General Roger Short was among the dead, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said.

As many as 14 consular staff, including both British and Turkish nationals, were among the fatalities.

Witnesses said one pickup truck exploded just outside the HSBC building, while another truck crashed into the gate of the British consulate. "The man came, rammed into the gates," Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu told the Anatolia news agency, describing the consulate bombing. The attacker then "set it off, blowing himself up."

The vehicle looked like a catering truck, with explosives placed in food cauldrons, Anatolia quoted police as saying. Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey will defeat terrorists and he deplored the timing of the attacks, during Ramadan.

"The terrorists hope to intimidate, they hope to demoralise. They are not going to succeed," Bush said at a news conference with Blair in London.

"Once again we must affirm that in the face of this terrorism there must be no holding back, no compromise, no hesitation in confronting this menace, in attacking it wherever and whenever we can and in defeating it utterly," Blair said.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw arrived in Istanbul last night.

An unidentified caller to the semiofficial Anatolia news agency said Al Qaida and the militant Islamic Great Eastern Raiders' Front, or IBDA-C, jointly claimed responsibility for attacks.